FEB 5 -- FRESNO,
Calif.—United States Attorney Benjamin
B. Wagner and Drug Enforcement Administration
Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams,
announced today that United States District
Judge Oliver W. Wanger sentenced SERGIO REYNOL
PADILLA, 43, of Merced, to 21 years and 10
months in federal prison for his leadership
role in a vast six-year conspiracy to distribute
and possess with intent to distribute large
quantities of cocaine.

This
case is the product of an investigation, sponsored
by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task
Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a focused interagency
program investigating and prosecuting the most
significant drug trafficking organizations throughout
the United States by leveraging the combined expertise
of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Members of the OCDETF task force in this case included
the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California
Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement,
Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, the Merced Police Department, the Merced Multi-agency Narcotics Task Force, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sheriff’s
Department in Douglas County, Nebraska.

According
to Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar
who is prosecuting this operation, the operation
dubbed “Cocaine Convoy” took
its name from the scheme uncovered in the
drug trafficking conspiracy whereby the defendants
would smuggle large shipments of cocaine
from Mexico to the Central Valley and then
ship it via semi tractor trailers to the
Philadelphia area for distribution to gang
members there.

U.S.
Attorney Wagner said, “The sentencing
of Sergio Padilla closes the door on a sophisticated
organization that used the Central Valley
as a channel for its drug trafficking operations.
We are grateful to the participating law
enforcement agencies whose sustained collaborative
efforts led to the conviction of 14 federal
defendants, seizure of 35 kilograms of cocaine
and two homes, and forfeiture of over $2
million in cash.”

In his plea agreement, PADILLA admitted that between January 1, 2000 and May 22, 2006, he conspired with others to distribute at least 197 kilograms (433 pounds) of cocaine valued at $2,851,759 in California, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and elsewhere. They shipped it in semi-tractor trailers, often filled with legitimate agricultural products, to the East Coast of the United States for distribution in the Philadelphia area. He admitted that he laundered $100,000 in drug proceeds through the Lasher Brothers Trucking business based in Los Banos and used these laundered funds to purchase an apartment complex in Merced.

DEA
Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams
stated, “Operation Cocaine Convoy was
the end of the road for this bi-coastal drug
distribution ring. This sentencing demonstrates
what is accomplished when multiple law enforcement
agencies come together and combine their
expertise.”

At
PADILLA’s sentencing hearing, Judge Wanger considered testimony and evidence that PADILLA had obtained and shipped over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine to the East Coast. Judge Wanger concluded that a prison sentence of 262 months was just punishment in light of PADILLA’s leadership role in the “active distribution to street gangs” and his willingness to involve witting and unwitting family members in his drug trafficking activities. For example, PADILLA involved his sister and co-defendant LORENA PEREZ in concealing his drug proceeds. Drug agents seized from PEREZ’s home in Merced $1,089,000 in cash derived from PADILLA’s
drug trafficking activities. Judge Wanger
also imposed a 10-year term of supervised
release or unsupervised release, if PADILLA
is deported to Mexico. PADILLA is not lawfully
present in the United States.

In addition to PADILLA, the following defendants have been convicted as a result of the investigation in this case:

PHILIP BRIZAN, 44, of Atwater, California, convicted of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, sentenced to 11 years in prison;